Chapter 15

The next few days Henry found himself in a state of frenzy. And he knew what - or rather who – to blame for his state.
Catherine. His wife.
Her mere nearness had the effect of a powerful aphrodisiac on him and he couldn't get enough of her.

Since the moment they had left Lord Bernard's land, Henry hadn't let her out of his sight. Mainly because he couldn't bear the thought of not knowing where she was after he had just found her a few days ago. And secondary because he was trying to compensate his guilty conscience with exaggerated care, for he imposed this difficult journey upon his wife out of purely selfish reasons. He could just as well have put Catherine in one of Bernard's carriages and sent it over the main road to drive around the mountain crest.
But without her knowledge he had refused Bernard's friendly offer.

He wanted her by his side since the time spent together on his horse and their nights on the small cot meant the world to him.
And he knew that the two of them needed this forced closeness.
For he still felt a distance between them that was coming from her. And no matter how hard he tried tearing down the walls of distrust that still surrounded Catherine's heart, he still feared her slipping through his fingers like sand as soon as he turned his back on his wife.
That's why he guarded her carefully.

And during the nights, Henry made sweet love to her. Tenderly, carefully and with a devotion he never thought himself capable of. This newfound intimacy reminded him of their earlier years. A time when neither his mistresses nor her rebelliousness behavior had been standing between them. Not to mention their responsibility to sire an heir. An imposition that had finally torn them apart.

And he would do everything in his power to prevent them from ever being torn apart again.
Henry had pondered about their possible future during the last few days and he had come to the conclusion, that the only way to win Catherine over was to change his life. And that's what he intended to do.

For the first time in his life he had dared to ask himself the crucial question he had always avoided in the past.
Did he love his wife enough to give up his numerous mistresses for her? Even Diane.
And this promptly led him to another question: Which woman did he love more? Catherine or Diane?
For both of them had a very special place in his heart.
Henry was sure that he wouldn't have been able to answer this question in the past, at least not before Catherine took flight.
Now, however, there was no doubt left and his choice would be Catherine, over and over again.

He loved his wife and if the only way back into her heart meant that he had to break up his affairs with other women, he would just do that. Even though he knew that neither Diane nor Kenna would take it well. But right now he couldn't care less about their feelings.

And while he was mentally preparing his imminent conversation with his mistresses, Henry's eyes wandered over to the woman sitting in front of him on his stallion. Catherine had shed her initial resentment and nowadays she was even seeking the support of his strong arms he offered her as soon as he mounted his horse behind her.
She still insisted on riding her own horse for the first few hours of the day, but around noon she moved over to his without a word of protest to give her injured arm some rest.

Henry brushed her hair aside and placed a tender kiss at the nape of her neck.
"You are so quiet today..." Catherine's soft voice broke the silence between them.
"I'm just thinking."
"About... our return?", his wife guessed and Henry wondered if and how she imagined their future together. He could only hope that he had already smashed some of her doubts.
"Yes. Catherine, I know that you long for the comfort of a bed and a nice bath. And the children of course. So do I, but I'm also going to miss this." Henry made a wide gesture, pointing at the mountains, the succulent meadows and the clear blue sky above them.
In a moment like this it seemed so surreal to imagine him being King of France.

Nevertheless, he knew that it was about time to return to court and to face his responsibilities. But this time he had his wife at his side.
"I will miss it as well." Her concession released a wave of tenderness that swept all over him. Thus he gently grabbed Catherine's chin, turned her head in his direction and kissed her.
"Then I suggest that we relish our remaining days and nights out here all the more, my darling." Henry kissed her again in order to substantiate his words.
In the past, it would never have occurred to him to display his affection for Catherine so openly. And he was more than aware of the soldiers who witnessed him kissing his wife.
But nowadays it felt like the most natural thing he could do.
Especially when Catherine was kissing him back while melting into his arms.

xxx

Three days later, Henry's troops reached the royal residence. The King and Queen of France were riding ahead of the soldiers. Since Henry knew how important it was for Catherine to maintain her dignity, he had given in to his wife's urging and agreed to let her ride her own horse. He didn't want to embarrass her in front of their subjects.
Countless times he let his eyes wander over to Catherine. She seemed nervous and her posture was tense. Her lips were drawn into a thin line and worry lines had appeared on her forehead.

Fanfares could be heard from the battlements of the defense towers that announced their return.
"Smile. In a moment or two you're going to see the children." Henry tried to cheer up his wife. But the only thing he could coax out of her was the tiniest of twitches at the corners of her mouth.
When he stopped his stallion right in front of the main entrance, a crowd of people was already surrounding them in the courtyard. Henry let his gaze wander over those present, but he couldn't spy any of his children.
After nodding to some of the Lords, he swung his leg over the horse's croup and jumped off the saddle in the most elegant way. He petted the animal's neck and went over to Catherine's grey horse. With a confident smile on his lips, Henry reached out to his wife and gently lifted her off her horse.
"Welcome home, my dear," he whispered into her ear and tenderly stroke her cheek. While doing this, the King of France was more than aware of the curious looks his subjects darted their way.

'Let them stare', Henry thought. His subjects had to get used to this sight sooner or later, for he did not intend to pay Catherine less attention just because there were now more eyes on them or because they were back at court.
"I wish they would just stop staring," she whispered to him and smoothened her skirts with her right hand.
"Can you blame them?" Henry smiled at her in encouragement. For he himself couldn't take his eyes off her. Though for entirely different reasons. But he understood her frustration, for it masked a strong feeling of insecurity.

The attention of all people present was mainly focused on his wife and normally she wouldn't care at all. But without the protective walls her royal wardrobe usually provided her, without the jewelry and her make-up, Catherine had to feel naked.
He on the other hand didn't mind wearing functional cloths. In fact, he felt very comfortable and he loved seeing Catherine wearing a less formal dress for she looked adorably natural in it.

But her body vibrated with tension, even though she had put on a majestic smile and bravely withstood the curious stares. In a protective gesture, Henry put his arm around his wife's waist and instructed one of the servants to summon their children.
Without paying further attention to those present, Henry headed towards the marble staircase to take Catherine out of the focus of everybody's attention.

Halfway up, Francis appeared at the base of the stairs. The blonde Prince froze and stared down at his parents in surprise. A second later he rushed towards them.
"Mother!" Their eldest flew into Catherine's arms. His enthusiastic greeting nearly swept his mother from her feet.
"Oh Francis, my golden child," Catherine cried out and both joy and relief resonated from her voice.
With a happy smile on his lips, Henry observed the reunion of mother and child.
Meanwhile Mary, the Queen of Scots and Francis' wife, had joined them as well. She gave her mother-in-law a warm hug as soon as Francis released her. Then the younger couple showered the older one with reams of questions.
"Children, there will be time to answer your questions later. Let's get inside first," Henry said with resoluteness in his voice and offered his wife his left arm to lead her up the remaining steps.

Shortly thereafter they were surrounded by their children. They all craved for their mother's attention and clung to her like glue. Henry contented himself with the role of a silent observer after greeting the little ones. He knew that they needed their mother right now, not him.
The joy of reunion had fired Catherine's spirits and her face was radiating with blissful happiness.
"What happened? Where did you find her?" Francis had approached him unnoticed and questioningly looked back and forth between his parents.
"You won't believe it. I found her in a convent," Henry replied, without turning his gaze from his wife.
"A convent?" Francis sounded bewildered which prompted his father to chuckle in amusement.
"Yes. She had taken refuge there." The two men watched their family in silence.

"She looks exhausted. I would even say emaciated," Francis muttered after a few minutes of silent observation. "Is she sick?" he asked and Henry looked at his son with a serious expression on his face.
"She was sick. Very sick. Her condition was grave," he added, but refrained from giving further details. This wasn't the right time.
"Is her condition..." Francis hesitated briefly before continuing. "Is it life-threatening?"
Henry firmly shook his head.
"No, son. Not anymore. I'm sure that she is going to be okay."
His son did not need to know how serious her condition still was. That the poison left in her system was still affecting her. All that mattered now was the fact that Catherine had survived.
And he prayed that with God's and Nostradamus' help, his words would come true.

Here we go – a new chapter. I know that it took some time, but I've been terribly busy and I needed a short break from translating. I hope you've liked it.
Thank you so much for reading and for your kind reviews. Take care.